Well, I wouldn't say kill it with fire as it does have its good points. (Except the browser plugins, those do need to be killed with fire.) Being able to do the proverbial "write once, run anywhere" is a pretty handy feature to have. Well documented, lots of code out there to work with, etc etc. But the performance can be fairly underwhelming, the GUI toolkits are atrocious, and the language itself is kind of a disjointed mess.. C# is just much more streamlined and nicer to work with.

Java is a good language. I happen to like it, though it's not my favorite.

The absolute worst thing about Java development are the IDEs. I have tried all of the free ones and none are good. Some are slow and bulky. Others are a pain to use. And all of them look like crapware from the early 90s.

I personally prefer C# because it offers all of the same benefits that Java does, but with a whole lot more to offer. And with the advent of Visual Studio Express, it's a much more compelling option for independent/hobby developers. (in my opinion)

Java is a good language. I happen to like it, though it's not my favorite.

The absolute worst thing about Java development are the IDEs. I have tried all of the free ones and none are good. Some are slow and bulky. Others are a pain to use. And all of them look like crapware from the early 90s.

I personally prefer C# because it offers all of the same benefits that Java does, but with a whole lot more to offer. And with the advent of Visual Studio Express, it's a much more compelling option for independent/hobby developers. (in my opinion)

Java is a good language. I happen to like it, though it's not my favorite.

The absolute worst thing about Java development are the IDEs. I have tried all of the free ones and none are good. Some are slow and bulky. Others are a pain to use. And all of them look like crapware from the early 90s.

I personally prefer C# because it offers all of the same benefits that Java does, but with a whole lot more to offer. And with the advent of Visual Studio Express, it's a much more compelling option for independent/hobby developers. (in my opinion)

You're so right.....and I also have a problem with the 20 thousand frameworks that all do the same thing in a slightly different way and are all mostly incompatible with each other

The absolute worst thing about Java development are the IDEs. I have tried all of the free ones and none are good. Some are slow and bulky. Others are a pain to use. And all of them look like crapware from the early 90s.

I dunno -- I agree that most of them are awful and painfully slow, even some of the paid ones like IntelliJ are slooooow. Eclipse is fairly decent though.. it's no speed demon but it tends to be noticeably quicker than most others. Has a few nice features that I wish Visual Studio 2010 had too.. Mylyn for example. Visual Studio has a few nice alternatives but tends to be something monstrously big like TFS or grossly underpowered.

I started studying Java in school thinking I would pursue a CS minor, and quit after one class. I think, having gone back and taught myself programming later on, had I been exposed to any other language, I would have stuck it out.